Bacolod, the City of Smiles. It is home to the Masskara Festival and unending lines of restaurants. One might even be tempted to consider it as the Food Trip Capital of the Philippines. To get a clearer overview of a trip to Bacolod City, one has to consider that the tour would not be limited to only the tourist spots in the city itself. The nearby cities of Talisay and Silay should also be included in the travel guide and itinerary and so is the much farther town of Murcia where the seven waterfalls of Mambukal National Park is located. My first trip to the province occurred in 2010 and I have since been back thrice after that.

► HOW TO GET TO BACOLOD

Bacolod is an hour away by plane from Manila and is served by an International Airport situated at Silay City. There are air-conditioned vans and taxis awaiting from the airport parking lot to downtown Bacolod. There is also a ferry service that regularly plies the Manila – Bacolod route

► GETTING AROUND BACOLOD

The main mode of transportation in Bacolod and its neighboring towns is the jeepney. There are also pedicabs (trishaws) and motorized tricycles along its side-streets. Taxis are also available for rent, although most of them, from my experience, charges pakyaw (without using the meter).

► TOURS IN BACOLOD

It is generally quite easy to tour Bacolod on your own, DIY-style. But should you want a more convenient way of visiting the city’s tourist spots, there are a lot of tour companies offering city tours of Bacolod and its neighboring towns. I personally haven’t tried arranging for such, so I really can’t recommend any. For fairness’ sake, simply type “Bacolod Travel and Tours” in Google and choose which ones suit your budget and taste. Alternatively, you may check Bacolod’s local government listing here.

► SPEAK BACOLOD

People in Bacolod and generally it’s neighboring municipalities use Hiligaynon or Ilonggo as their main language. It is the third most spoken language in the Philippines. There are those who are also fluent in Cebuano, but most can understand and speak Filipino and English.

► WHERE TO STAY IN BACOLOD & NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

There are numerous lodgings, inns and hotels located at Bacolod City that caters to the A, B and C crowd. From cheap accomodations suitable for budget travelers and backpackers, to glamorous five-star hotel rooms for the glitzy tourists and business people.

► WHERE TO EAT IN BACOLOD & NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

One would not run out of places to eat while in Bacolod City. From the humble carinderia of Manokan Country to the glitzy cafes at Lacson Avenue. Popular fastfood joints also abound, should you miss eating your favorite burgers and fries.

► WHAT TO SEE & DO IN BACOLOD & NEGROS OCCIDENTAL

Bacolod seemed very unassuming the first time I visited; I didn’t know that there were so many things one can do and so many places to visit in the area. From old churches, ancestral houses, ruins, waterfall adventure and parks. The only thing missing really is some beach action.

► WHAT TO BUY IN BACOLOD

Souvenir shops and pasalubong centers are scattered throughout the city, but the best souvenirs I found were from the Negros Showroom and the best pasalubong were the Napoleones and tarts from Virgie’s.

► BACOLOD TOURIST SPOTS MAP

► SAMPLE BACOLOD ITINERARY

Three days is the minimum for an effective Bacolod tour. You can extend this to four or five days if you want a more relaxed pace and if you want to sample more restaurants in the city; Bacolod is a food trip city after all. The tour itinerary below is already relaxed in its pacing and covers almost all the tourist spots in Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Murcia.

DAY ONE Arrive from the airport Check in at hotel Breakfast at Manokan Country Visit Capitol Park & Lagoon Visit Negros Museum Visit Dizon Ramos Museum Lunch at Cafe Bob’s Desserts at Calea Visit the Ruins until sunset Dinner at the Ruins

DAY TWO Breakfast at hotel Visit the Seven Falls at Mambukal National Park Lunch at Mambukal National Park Back to Bacolod City Buy pasalubong and souvenirs at Virgie’s and Negros Showroom Visit Pope John Paul II Tower Watch the sunset at the Bacolod Baywalk Seafood dinner at the Old Pala-Pala Market DAY THREE Breakfast at El Ideal Bakery in Silay City Walking tour of the Silay Ancestral Houses Visit the Balay Negrense Museum Visit the Bernardo Jalandoni Museum Lunch at Cafe 1925 Check out from the hotel

► BACOLOD TRAVEL BUDGET

Bacolod is a fairly inexpensive city to tour around in, especially if you utilize the jeepney as your main mode of transportation. Most tourist spots are walking distance to each other, except a few. Food is also quite affordable, even on restaurants. The travel budget I prepared below is the absolute minimum one can spend in Bacolod City.

I've been a fan of your work ever since I stumbled upon Lakad Pilipinas. Thank you for this travel guide to Bacolod. I hope you keep coming back to our city. If I may add a few more to your list --

batchoy at Bar 21... spareribs at Chicken House... cheezy burger and napoleones at Roli's... half-moon at Pendy's... green mango margarita at Txacho (I'm not sure I got the spelling right)... piaya from Sugarlandialinaga from Sananing's... strip sugar cane with your teeth and chew until juice runs down your face... ham from James Foods...lechon from the lechon stalls along Singcang Street... seafood from Balaring... fried chicken from Luisa's... siopao from City Lunch... and list goes on and on...

Hi Christian, we are planning to visit bacolod on masskara festival and also planning to have a side trip. Can you help me where we can contact a tourist guide, who will give us a good package?? thanks in advance

Sir if I may suggest you might want to visit carbin reef and other sagay marine reserve that's in northern part of negos occidental as well as mambangon falls in las castellana that's in southern part naman. Masarap ung talaba sa Hinigaran still in southern part..

Hi Christian! We plan to visit Bacolod this July 20 & 21. Is it possible to squeeze in your itinerary in just 2 days? We are coming in from a bus ride from Dumaguete in the early morning of July 20. We leave for Ilo ilo early morning of July 22. We are a family of 4 (all adults) + 1 adult friend total of 5pax. We plan to rent a van and driver for the 2 days stay in Bacolod. Thank you!

Hi! Thank you so much for this wonderful guide. We're going to Iloilo this December and I'm torn between going to Islas de Gigantes and Bacolod. I think Bacolod is the winner here! It's a 3D2N trip so I guess we'll be staying in Bacolod for a day and a half before going back to Iloilo for our flight to Manila. This guide will def make our trip smoother. :) Any tips for cheap lodging in Bacolod? TIA! :)

For a solo traveler, Dormitels has the cheapest accommodation. Php250 for a bunk bed. If you are traveling with a group, I suggest staying in family-owned lodging. They have rooms that can accommodate more than 5 persons for less than Php2000.

Sir, when you say Siquijor is one hour away by ferry, what do you mean? Is Siquijor one hour away from Bacolod by ferry? Or is it from Dumaguete? Dumaguete is 5-6 hours away by bus according to the post above. So in total, from Bacolod, it will need around 7 hours to go to Siquijor, tama po ba?

Hello, Sir. It's Noli again. I am just wondering if you can help me. How can one reserve a room in Mambukal? I noticed that they only have landlines in their Web site. I don't have means of contacting them through these landlines. I tried contacting their FB Page but they are not responding. I want to ask, what is the probability of an available room in their resort if we will reserve just one day ahead? Are they always fully booked? We're going there next week, specifically on December 9. If we can't reserve now, perhaps reservation will be the first thing that we will do when we arrive in Bacolod on the December 8. I'm just taking a chance if you have any idea.

Hello, good day. I want to have the same flow as your itinerary. But I will be going with my Aunties. And they wanted me to rent a van that could accommodate us with the same itinerary as yours. Do you have any idea or could you recommend a van rental that has the same itinerary? Or offers a customize one? Hoping for your response! Thank you! God bless!!

I like the food in the City. This post is really a guide. We'll definitely use this in our Bacolod Visit in December. Hopefully our house in http://suntrust.com.ph/bacolod/ be completed as soon as possible. I am excited to live in the City.

Hi there, doing a Bacolod-Dumaguete trip isn't really feasible if you're only staying for four days in Bacolod. The travel time from Bacolod to Dumaguete takes about five to six hours by bus or by car, one way.

Hi there.. just happened to click on your blog site and found it very informative and interesting.. thank you as well for visiting our well loved province of Negros... hopefully you can also explore the Southern part of Negros some major tourist attractions like white sand beaches, waterfalls and caves, and some natural scenic wonders and spots are known to be visited most.. hope you'll love to be back here in Negros. Ty